For those first few seconds of ‘Painted Skeletons’ the heart wishes that the band were about to break into Virginia Plane by Roxy Music as the piano intro promises something big. What we get is a tired sounding guitar hook and some pretty loose musicianship. Shame.

Wakefield’s Lapels then seem like yet another band jumping on indie’s vastly oversubscribed bandwagon; the Libertines garage sound’s here, the mumbled lyrics, the “raw” production style. What narks about Painted Skeletons, and indeed probably about many a British four piece at the moment, is that these are bands trying to sound like what they see in front of them and not what they hear in themselves.

It goes without saying that influences are inevitable but it’s what you make with them these days which marks your talent as a band; Lapels haven’t really made very much of there’s despite their attempt at lyrics which are, according to them, about “cannibals, nautica, ashes, and authors”. B- Side ‘Last Great Civilization’ is more of the same but sped up a bit, which is a shame because Yorkshire currently has a thriving and creative music community at the moment, Lapels are a poor representation of this.

Date Released: Out Now
Label: Louder Than Bombs